Judicial activism refers to judicial
rulings that are suspected of being based on personal opinion, rather
than on existing law. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint.
The definition of judicial activism and the specific decisions that are
activist are controversial political issues. The question of judicial
activism is closely related to constitutional interpretation, statutory construction, and separation of powers.
Etymology
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. introduced the term "judicial activism" in a January 1947 Fortune magazine article titled "The Supreme Court: 1947".
The phrase has been controversial since its beginning. An article
by Craig Green, "An Intellectual History of Judicial Activism," is
critical of Schlesinger's use of the term; "Schlesinger's original
introduction of judicial activism was doubly blurred: not only did he
fail to explain what counts as activism, he also declined to say whether
activism is good or bad."
Even before this phrase was first used, the general concept already existed. For example, Thomas Jefferson referred to the "despotic behaviour" of Federalist federal judges, in particular Chief Justice John Marshall.
Definitions
A survey of judicial review in practice during the last three decades
shows that 'Judicial Activism' has characterised the decisions of the
Supreme Court at different times.
Black's Law Dictionary
defines judicial activism as a "philosophy of judicial decision-making
whereby judges allow their personal views about public policy, among
other factors, to guide their decisions."
Political science professor Bradley Canon has posited six dimensions along which judge courts may be perceived as activist:
majoritarianism, interpretive stability, interpretive fidelity,
substance/democratic process, specificity of policy, and availability of
an alternate policymaker. David A. Strauss has argued that judicial
activism can be narrowly defined as one or more of three possible
actions: overturning laws as unconstitutional, overturning judicial precedent, and ruling against a preferred interpretation of the constitution.
Others have been less confident of the term's meaning, finding it instead to be little more than a rhetorical shorthand. Kermit Roosevelt III
has argued that "in practice 'activist' turns out to be little more
than a rhetorically charged shorthand for decisions the speaker
disagrees with"; likewise, the solicitor general under George W. Bush, Theodore Olson, said in an interview on Fox News Sunday, in regards to a case for same-sex marriage he had successfully litigated, that "most people use the term 'judicial activism' to explain decisions that they don't like." Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has said that, "An activist court is a court that makes a decision you don't like."
Debate
Detractors of judicial activism charge that it usurps the power of
the elected branches of government or appointed agencies, damaging the
rule of law and democracy. Defenders of judicial activism say that in many cases it is a legitimate form of judicial review, and that the interpretation of the law must change with changing times.
A third view is that so-called "objective" interpretation of the
law does not exist. According to law professor Brian Z. Tamanaha,
"Throughout the so-called formalist age, it turns out, many prominent
judges and jurists acknowledged that there were gaps and uncertainties
in the law and that judges must sometimes make choices." Under this view, any judge's use of judicial discretion
will necessarily be shaped by that judge's personal and professional
experience and his or her views on a wide range of matters, from legal
and juridical philosophy to morals and ethics. This implies a tension
between granting flexibility (to enable the dispensing of justice) and
placing bounds on that flexibility (to hold judges to ruling from legal
grounds rather than extralegal ones).
Some proponents of a stronger judiciary argue that the judiciary
helps provide checks and balances and should grant itself an expanded
role to counterbalance the effects of transient majoritarianism,
i.e., there should be an increase in the powers of a branch of
government which is not directly subject to the electorate, so that the
majority cannot dominate or oppress any particular minority through its
elective powers.
Other scholars have proposed that judicial activism is most
appropriate when it restrains the tendency of democratic majorities to
act out of passion and prejudice rather than after reasoned
deliberation.
Moreover, they argue that the judiciary strikes down both elected
and unelected official action, in some instances acts of legislative
bodies reflecting the view the transient majority may have had at the
moment of passage and not necessarily the view the same legislative body
may have at the time the legislation is struck down. Also, the judges
that are appointed are usually appointed by previously elected executive
officials so that their philosophy should reflect that of those who
nominated them, that an independent judiciary is a great asset to civil
society since special interests are unable to dictate their version of
constitutional interpretation with threat of stopping political
donations.
United States examples
The following rulings have been characterized as judicial activism.
- Brown v. Board of Education – 1954 Supreme Court ruling ordering the desegregation of public schools.
- Roe v. Wade - 1973 Supreme Court ruling creating the constitutional right to an abortion.
- Bush v. Gore – The United States Supreme Court case between the major-party candidates in the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush and Al Gore. The justices voted 5–4 to halt the recount of ballots in Florida and, as a result, George Bush was chosen as president.
- District of Columbia v. Heller - 2008 Supreme Court decision affirming that the Second Amendment protects an individual right, unrelated to military service, to keep and bear arms.
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission – 2010 Supreme Court decision declaring Congressionally enacted limitations on corporate political spending and transparency as unconstitutional restrictions on free speech.
- Hollingsworth v. Perry – 2013 decision by federal judge Vaughn R. Walker overturning California's constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
- Obergefell v. Hodges – 2015 Supreme Court decision declaring same-sex marriage as a right guaranteed under the Due Process Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment.
Outside the United States
While the term was first coined and is often used in the United
States, it has also been applied in other countries, particularly common law jurisdictions.
India
India has a recent history of judicial activism, originating after the emergency in India which saw attempts by the Government to control the judiciary. Public Interest Litigation was thus an instrument devised by the courts to reach out directly to the public, and take cognizance though the litigant may not be the victim. "Suo motu" cognizance allows the courts to take up such cases on its own. The trend has been supported as well criticized. New York Times author Gardiner Harris sums this up as India’s judges have
sweeping powers and a long history of judicial activism that would be
all but unimaginable in the United States. In recent years, judges
required Delhi’s auto-rickshaws to convert to natural gas to help cut
down on pollution,
closed much of the country’s iron-ore-mining industry to cut down on
corruption and ruled that politicians facing criminal charges could not
seek re-election.
Indeed, India’s Supreme Court and Parliament have openly battled for
decades, with Parliament passing multiple constitutional amendments to
respond to various Supreme Court rulings.
All such rulings carry the force of Article 39A of the Constitution of India, although before and during the Emergency the judiciary desisted from "wide and elastic" interpretations, termed Austinian, because Directive Principles of State Policy are non-justiciable. This despite the constitutional provisions for judicial review and B R Ambedkar
arguing in the Constituent Assembly Debates that "judicial review,
particularly writ jurisdiction, could provide quick relief against
abridgment of Fundamental Rights and ought to be at the heart of the
Constitution."
Fundamental Rights as enshrined in the Constitution have been subjected to wide review, and have now been said to encompass a right to privacy, right to livelihood and right to education, among others. The 'basic structure' of the Constitution has been mandated by the Supreme Court not to be alterable, notwithstanding the powers of the Legislature under Article 368. This was recognized, and deemed not applicable by the High Court of Singapore in Teo Soh Lung v. Minister for Home Affairs.
Recent examples quoted include the order to Delhi Government to convert the Auto rickshaw to CNG, a move believed to have reduced Delhi's erstwhile acute smog problem (it is now argued to be back) and contrasted with Beijing's.
Israel
The Israeli approach to judicial activism has transformed significantly in the last three decades, and currently presents an especially broad version of robust judicial review and intervention.
Additionally, taking into consideration the intensity of public life in
Israel and the challenges that the country faces (including security
threats), the case law of the Israeli Supreme Court touches on diverse and controversial public matters.
